How to Make Homemade Gumpaste For Cake Decorating

By Jessica Briggs

Gumpaste is a malleable, edible clay for making realistic models of items, such as flowers and leaves, with which to decorate a cake or cupcakes. It’s used often in cake decoration because it can be rolled out thinner than fondant, which allows you to mold it more delicately than you can fondant. However, it still retains a bit of flexibility unlike another edible clay, pastillage, so that it is less likely to break. Its vital ingredient can be tough to find, but you should be able to locate its synthetic version at craft stores.

Things You'll Need

3 cups powdered or confectioner's sugar, plus extra for kneading

1 tbsp. gum tragacanth, Gum Tex or tylose powder

1 tbsp. liquid glucose

1 packet unflavored gelatin

Large mixing bowl

Mixing spoon

Pour 4 tbsp. lukewarm water into your mixing bowl and dissolve the packet of gelatin into it.

Stir the glucose into the gelatin and water mixture. If the room you are working in is cool, microwave the glucose for 20 to 30 seconds to loosen it. Stir in the glucose until you have a uniform mixture.

Add in the gum tragacanth, Gum Tex or tylose powder. Then stir in the sugar, 1 cup at a time, until you have a soft and sticky dough.

Place the dough into a sealable plastic bag and seal it, trying to push out as much air as possible. Let sit overnight.

Knead a bit of powdered sugar into your dough to stiffen if it’s too soft or sticky for you to work with. Roll it out thin and use cookie cutters or cake tools to create your decorations.

Tips

If you would like to color the gumpaste, add a bit of powdered or gel food coloring at a time. Do so slowly until you achieve the color you want. Do not use liquid food coloring as it will dilute and soften the gumpaste, preventing it from hardening.

If you’d like to flavor your gumpaste, substitute 1 tsp. of flavored extract for 1 tsp. of the water. Don’t simply add the extract because it will change the consistency of your dough. Vanilla and almond extract generally work well in gumpaste.